SARASOTA, Fla. - For the Cincinnati Reds , it is a matter of pleading the fifth - the fifth starter.
Think the fifth spot in a pitching rotation is unimportant, just a spot occupied by a journeyman on his way to a pension or a rookie on his way to Triple-A? Let your fingers do the walking through the 2009 Reds Media Guide for proof of the importance.
The Reds were 74-88 last season, 14 games under .500 and firm occupants of fifth place.
Get this: when any of the first four starters were on the mound, the Reds were 63-63. That would be Aaron Harang, Bronson Arroyo, Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto.
Yes, the Reds were .500 in games started by those four, despite Harang's 6-17 record and Cueto's 9-14 record.
When any of the guys who rotated in and out of the fifth spot, the Reds were 11-25.
That would be Josh Fogg, Homer Bailey, Matt Belisle, Ramon Ramirez, Daryl Thompson and Adam Pettyjohn.
As bad as that is, manager Dusty Baker couldn't believe the fifth spot produced 11 wins.
"Eleven-and-25? Ooooh? I didn't think we won even one. I can't remember any, to be honest," said Baker. "What was Bailey, 0-and-6?
"Damn, it's an important spot, boy," he added. "Wow. That's unbelievable, isn't it?"
That's why every time Michal Owings, Bailey or Nick Masset start an exhibition game, everybody is all eyes and ears with a rapt attention span.
And Owings was eye-popping Sunday, March 8 - four innings, no runs, one hit, no walks, six strikeouts - five swinging - in a 6-5 10-inning win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
In three starts this spring, Owings has given up two runs over 10 2 / 3 innings on six hits with one walk and 12 strikeouts.
"One of those games in spring that, well, you enjoy that one," Owings said. "Too many times you sit in a chair waiting for the media, not knowing what to say and dreading it."
One word covered this one: Outstanding.
"I've been working more on my two-seamers, using it and getting guys with it," he said. "I've had it, but I've tweaked it and I'm throwing it more. (Pitching coach) Dick Pole has showed me an adjustment."
On the dreary side, closer Francisco Cordero was obliterated for the third straight time - one innings, three runs, three hits (two homers).
In three innings this spring he has given up eight runs, 11 hits and three homers.
Contact this reporter at hmccoy@DaytonDailyNews.com
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